​Arts at the Airport: Fall Flying Solo Series Opens at BNA on September 4

NASHVILLE – August 22, 2017 – The fall installment of the Flying Solo series at Nashville International Airport (BNA) will open September 4, 2017 and run through November 26, 2017. The exhibit is part of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority’s (MNAA) Arts at the Airport program.

Each season, the Flying Solo series offers arts organizations and gifted local artists an opportunity to exhibit their work at BNA. Fall 2017 Flying Solo series artists include Daryl Thetford, Chao Ma, Tammy O’Connor, Glenn Taylor, Richard Barrow and The International Aviation Art Contest winners. The Ryman Auditorium, 125 Years: Inspired, exhibit is on display through January 2018.

“Middle Tennessee is home to a number of amazing artists, and we’re committed to showcasing the region’s creativity through the Arts at the Airport’s Flying Solo exhibitions,” said Doug Kreulen, MNAA president and CEO.

Below is a brief description on each of the displaying artists and their work:

Daryl Thetford
Ticketing Lobby North
September 4, 2017 – February 25, 2018

Thetford has had 15 solo exhibits since 2012, including shows at The Art Museum at the University of Memphis; the Ormond Museum of Art in Florida; the Jung Center in Houston, Texas; The Arts Company in Nashville, Tennessee; the Coffman Gallery at the University of Minnesota; the Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Indiana; and an upcoming exhibit at the gallery at The University of Tennessee in Martin. He has also participated in over twenty group shows since 2008. www.darylthetford.com

Chao Ma
Ticketing Lobby South
September 4, 2017 – February 25, 2018

Chao Ma was born in Xi’an, China and attended school at the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, where he worked as an instructor after graduating. In 1993, he moved to Japan to attend graduate school at the Kyoto City University of Arts. After obtaining his MFA, Chao studied at the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences (IAMAS). He lived in Japan for 14 years before returning to China to teach art at Jinan University. Chao is now based in the United States. www.Chaomasart.com

International Aviation Art Contest
Art Cases
Concourse A near Gate A2
September 4, 2017 – February 25, 2018

Since 1989 the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) has sponsored the International Aviation Art Contest to challenge young people to illustrate the importance of aviation through art. Demonstrating the impact of aeronautics through an interactive, fun medium such as art motivates youth of all ages to become more familiar with aeronautics, engineering and science. The U.S. portion of the contest is sanctioned by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), managed by the NASAO Center for Aviation Research and Education and sponsored by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Prescott, Ken Cook Co., the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Coalition for Aviation and Space Education with additional support from NASAO members. www.tn.gov/tdot/article/aviation-art-contest-results

Tammy O’Connor
Art Case
A/B Meeter-greeter Lounge
September 4 – November 26, 2017

Introduced to glass art 30 years ago, Tammy O’Connor soon left a career in photography in Atlanta and plunged herself into creating beauty in glass. The photographic arts had appealed to her since high school in Montgomery, Alabama, and her eye for photography sharpened her entry in creating glass. Tammy has formed Vitric Visions Stained Glass and now her work adorns churches in Georgia and Tennessee, as well as commercial and residential buildings in both the US and abroad. Along with her husband and 3 children, Tammy moved from Atlanta in 1998 and currently resides in Tullahoma, Tennessee. She has exhibited in galleries and shows across Georgia and Tennessee. www.vitricvision.com

Glenn Taylor
Art Case
C Meeter-greeter Lounge
September 4 – November 26, 2017

Born in Nashville, TN and growing up in rural east, Tennessee creativity and a vivid imagination were a necessity in a town where children were responsible for their own entertainment. Where arcades and movie theaters didn’t exist, the great outdoors became Glenn Taylor’s canvas while scraps of metal and other discarded items became his medium. One could definitely conclude that his childhood beginnings played a pivotal role in the artist he would later become. After serving in the U.S. Army, Glenn settled in Nashville, Tennessee and became a trusted name in the commercial construction industry. After long ignored injuries from his time in the military finally demanded his retirement, Glenn found renewed strength and purpose in creating unique pieces of art from scrap metal. Still residing in Middle Tennessee, today you can find Glenn’s work displayed Harpeth Art Gallery, Hwy 70S, Pegram, TN. www.facebook.com\whenheatmeetsrust.

Richard Barrow
Concourse C
Across from Gates 10 and 13
September 4 – November 26, 2017

Richard Barrow is a photographic artist based in Nashville Tenn. After three decades in the music industry as a recording engineer for artists including Trace Adkins, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, and Josh Turner, he turned to his passion for photography as an art form utilizing nature and landscape images as metaphors to tell poetic and emotional stories of life’s moments. His work has been included in national exhibitions including representing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in “Americas Parks: A Centennial Celebration” at Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in Pueblo Colorado in conjunction with their Ansel Adams exhibition. His landscape and travel photography has appeared in publications including Lifestyles Magazine, USA Today, US News & World Report, and The Tennessean. www.rbarrowimages.com

Ryman Auditorium:125 Years: Inspired
Food Court Concourse C
February 6, 2017 – January 21, 2018

A National Historic Landmark, the Ryman Auditorium’s 125-year history reads like the best of American stories – built as a tabernacle by a riverboat captain who was inspired by a travelling evangelist (1892); rose to prominence first as Nashville’s largest venue for civic gatherings and national touring shows, then as the home of the Grand Ole Opry (1943-1974); largely abandoned for twenty years after a new modern venue was built for the Opry (1974); rescued from the wrecking ball by passionate artists and the Nashville community; triumphantly reopened (1994) and now widely considered one of the finest performance venues in the world. www.ryman.com

The Flying Solo series is funded under an agreement with the state of Tennessee and the Tennessee Arts Commission.

PHOTOS: Press photographs of the art are available here: http://www.flynashville.com/news-and-media/Pages/Press-Photos.aspx.

Arts at the Airport

Working closely with the 15-member Arts at the Airport Foundation board, the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority showcases the region’s visual and performing arts through its Arts at the Airport program, which receives some funding from the Tennessee Arts Commission. The award-winning Arts at the Airport program reviews and presents works by local, regional and national artists for the enjoyment and enrichment of Nashville International Airport’s and John C. Tune Airport’s passengers and visitors. In addition to visual art, Arts at the Airport includes music since it is an integral part of Nashville. The arts come alive with musical performances on stages throughout BNA’s passenger terminal.


Arts at the Airport, a 501(c)(3) organization, receives funding for the visual arts from the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) and the Tennessee Arts Commission (TAC). The Flying Solo Exhibition Series is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Arts Commission and the State of Tennessee. For more information about Arts at the Airport, please call (615) 275-1614, send email to arts@nashintl.com or visit www.flynashville.com.